The Vaticinator

10. A Night To Remember

Tomorrow is not what I get to see when I open my eyes next; not in the literal sense at least. My sleep is broken half way through the night, quite a few hours before dawn. The first thing I notice are the howls emanating from the attic. Rome has not given up from torturing everyone in the house. I don’t know if my family has managed to sleep with Rome screaming at the top of his lungs or their sleeps have been disrupted in the same way my sleep has broken. I shift around, looking at my bed side table that displays the clock. It is nearly two thirty AM in the morning. After a minute I realize that it’s not Rome who has my eyes open. A faint knock resonates from my bedroom door, proving to be the source of my interrupted sleep. I don’t know since how long the knocking has been going on. I shake the sleepiness away and concentrate, feeling surprised at sensing Neal’s aura right outside my door. Hastily, I get up, accidently bumping against my night table. I curse, my eyes half closed due to sleepiness and walk on. I immediately trip on the duvet that decides to slide down, entangled in my legs. I barely manage to hold myself upright. With another round of lazy curses, I open the door of my room.

Neal is standing, his hands thrust in the pocket of the sweat pants that I have lent him, the cuffs of which are folded at his feet. He looks wide awake and slightly annoyed with his lips pursed.

“Hi.” I say, barely managing to open my eyes.

“Wouldn’t he shut up at all?” He says, his voice an odd combination of anger and helplessness, making it come out as an annoyed whimper.

“What?” I ask, rubbing my eyes.

“This,” he says, pointing a finger towards the ceiling. For effect, Rome growls loudly just above our heads, “He has been screaming and jumping incessantly above my room.” Neal complains.

 I suppress a yawn, “Sorry…We should maintain a guest room on the lower floors.”

“No shit.”

“We can’t really do anything about it.” I tell him, forcing my eyes open, “He usually calms down within a few hours.”

“What if he escapes?” Neal blurts, slight panic in his voice. He winces and continues in a calmer voice, “I mean, he has been extra ferocious in the past half hour.”

Now wait a second…is Neal….? Is he feeling scared?

“We keep him expertly locked.” I supply, “He won’t be able to escape. But,” I say, “If you feel uncomfortable in your room then you can sleep in mine. The bed’s big enough.” I say, opening my door more and emphasizing on my bed which is invisible in the darkness.

Neal narrows his eyes suspiciously at me, “I am not standing here because I am frightened. I can sleep alone. But it’s difficult to manage that with the noise.” He clarifies.

I sigh. Neal has more pride than even Aakir.

“Frightened or not, you’re welcome. And finding this,” I point a finger upwards, “scary is not going to make you look like a wimp. There have been nights when I used to sleep between my parents because of this.”

Neal rolls his eyes but doesn’t comment on it. I open my door more and move inside. I walk to my bed and switch on the light; my room no longer in the darkness. “Plus,” I say as I turn around, “If Rome escapes perchance then the two of us can fend him off easily in my opinion.”

“That thing has a name?” Neal says, raising his eyebrows as he enters my room. His steps are cautious, his eyes darting around my room fervently as if he is looking for something even remotely dangerous.

“That ‘thing’ is a part of our family.” I answer him, motioning for him to shut the door.

He complies, drowning Rome’s noisiness slightly. He circumspectly eyes my bedroom floor as he walks inside, “Were you sleeping on the floor?” he asks in amusement.